Rose Petals and Shining Armour
by Ryutana
Summary: Hogwarts had been around for a very long time before anyone in the original series was even born. This is a forgotten tale of mystery, magic, love, and hate.
1. Chapter 1

**Rose Petals and Shining Armour - A Harry Potter fanfiction**

I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with it, J. does but I think you knew that already.

_Chapter 1_

"Welcome to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" a tall silver-haired wizard announced. The chatter in the room instantly died down and everyone stood waiting for what would come next. "In several minutes these doors will open and you will be sorted into your houses before the rest of the school" the man continued as he pointed to the magnificent doors behind him. The whispering bubbled up again as people discussed what they heard about the sorting ceremony; some claimed it was duel, others a test of magical abilities, and one boy was carrying on about having to face a dementor. No one seemed to notice the rather tall boy in the back of the room staring intently at everyone. He seemed to have chosen the spot deliberately since the only two things that were not concealed by the shadows were his snow white hair and his jet black eyes. His eyes swept the room until he found what he had been looking for, the young lady Leigh from the House of Pelp originally from Finland. She did not look it though, she was a true brunette with equally brown eyes. But her looks were of no interest to him; he was curious as to how good her magical skills were. It was rumoured that she could already produce a full fledged Patronus and perform some wickedly complex pieces of magic. He was not worried about her because he knew he could easily match her though no one knew that. He was a nobody and that was the way he intended to stay. Suddenly several trumpets sounded and the doors to the Great Hall opened. He knew that the ceiling was enchanted with some sort of a transparency spell nevertheless he thoroughly enjoyed seeing it in real life.

* * *

As she slowly walked down the aisle in the centre of the Great Hall she held her breath at the sight of the magnificent hall. Her mind went back to the day the owl had brought the acceptance letter to her castle and how happy she and her parents had been. Then the journey to Diagon Alley to get her wand, books, and other supplies. Finally, the port-key journey to the village of Hogsmeade and how dizzy she had felt as they landed in the town centre along with the rest of the first years. Well everyone except the strange boy with the snow white hair, it looked as if he had walked the whole way there from wherever he had come from. Her thoughts got interrupted when the Headmaster stood up and called for attention. The young man, who could not have been older than thirty, started his beginning of the year speech. "Welcome, welcome to a new school year, here at Hogwarts. For those who do not know me I am Headmaster Litesprieg and for those who do know me I am also Headmaster Litesprieg. Now for some unfortunate news. At the end of last year our dear transfiguration teacher, Professor Twiger, became ill and during the summer holidays he passed away. He was 602. The good news is that we found a replacement, Professor Starmy. Give her a warm welcome." As the hall died down after the bout of applause he continued, "Everyone must be anxious to get the sorting done with and start the feast, so without further ado, let us begin!" "As I call your name, please step forward and take a seat in the chair" the silver-haired wizard said in a calm even voice. "So what her parents had told her was true, it would be just a chair and an old hat". This calmed her down, and as the names started to be called she found herself eager to be called.

* * *

"Lady Leigh Pelp" a clear even voice announced. He was very curious about which house she would be placed in. His bets were on Ravenclaw but he was impressed as the sorting hat cried out "Gryffindor". "Interesting", he though to himself. He had no time to dwell on it because his name was next.

* * *

"Lord George Swanson" the same voice announced. "So that is who he is" she thought as she sat down at the Gryffindor House table. "My bet is Slytherin" an older boy said to another. She before she knew it she had asked him why he thought that. "He gives me the creeps more than the dark forest, that's why" he answered. A grin appeared on his face as indeed the hat announced "Slytherin". George stood up slowly and turned ever so slightly when suddenly the hall became completely pitch black. Before anyone could utter a scream of panic, a light appeared in the front of the hall. The light cast an eerie orange glow on the surrounding walls until it brightened and people realised that the chair and the sorting hat were on fire. Leigh looked on in utter amazement as the chair crumbled and collapsed as multi-coloured flames turned it to ash. The sorting hat, being an extremely powerful magical artefact, was still unscathed. Leigh was slightly disoriented as the light of the candles came back on and the chair let out a final wisp of smoke. No one spoke as the Head Master stood up, with a troubled look on his face. "It seems to me that the chair finally had enough, so let us continue without it." Leigh looked around for George and saw him staring directly at her with his dark piercing eyes from the Slytherin table. She quickly looked away, not being able to match the intensity of his gaze.

* * *

The rest of the ceremony proceeded without any further disturbances and finally the last person had been sorted. The headmaster, without standing up, shouted "Let us eat!". Dishes of all sorts appeared on the tables and everyone hungrily helped themselves. Even the wealthiest students were enjoying the dishes with pure delight on their faces. Everyone at the table was discussing how the chair had caught fire. George had to answer several times how he had managed to get back down to the Slytherin table. "I knew where the table was so walking to it was not very hard, the burning chair made it easier to see." After the last person had stopped eating, the dishes silently disappeared and they had to follow their prefects to their respective dorms. George silently made his way down to the dungeons with the rest of his house. "The password is basilisk", the prefect said as the wall opened up revealing a comfortable living room area with a lit hearth. "Lords straight foward and Ladies take a left right after the statue of Salazar Slytherin himself." George did not wait to be told what to do next; he walked to the Lords bedrooms and found the four poster bed with his name engraved into the head board. He quickly changed into his pyjamas and crawled under the covers. He was asleep by the time the rest arrived.

* * *

Just like the Slytherins, the Gryffindors made their way to their dorm, located in one of the highest towers of Hogwarts. A grumpy old man in a portrait guarded the entrance to the tower. After the prefect had given the password, lionheart, the portrait moved inwards revealing a cozy room complete with plush chairs and a hearth. "Let us hope these chairs do not catch fire" someone said in a joking voice. "Lords up the stairs and to the left, Ladies up the other set of stairs and to right" the prefect said as everyone looked around. Leigh sat down in one of the lazy chairs in front of the fire. The heat of the fire felt good on her cold skin. Soon she was almost drifting off to sleep. She forced herself to get up, walk up the stairs and to the ladies bedrooms. A four poster bed with her name on the headboard was waiting for her. Her belongings had been placed on the floor in front of the bed. She silently changed into her sleeping clothes and got into bed. She was about to nod of to sleep when she heard one of the girls whisper to another girl "That white haired boy, George was so creepy but also so intriguing, I hope I get a chance to talk to him." Leigh drifted off to sleep as she remembered those piercing black eyes staring at her with a frightening intensity.

End Chapter 1

Sorry for taking such a long break from writing. I hope you guys enjoy this first chapter and I would really appreciate some reviews! Thanks, ryutana


	2. Chapter 2

Rose Petals and Shining Armour - A Harry Potter fanfiction I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with it, (if I did I would just publish this as a book) J. does.

Chapter 2

It was still dark out when Leigh woke up. At home she always woke up this early to practice her duelling skills, and today would be no different. She quietly dressed, made way down the stairs and exited the common room. The duelling practice arena was adjacent to the actual arena on the 3rd floor. As she entered the practice arena, two suits of armour barred the way. "In order to train here you must be of a sufficient duelling level" one said. "Do you wished to be tested?" the second asked? "I do" she answered calmly. She knew that she could beat any test they would give her. "Please proceed to the first duelling area" one said as they unbarred the way. At the first duelling area a painting had been hung up, inside was an sleeping old wizard. "Excuse me, I would like to be tested" she said hesitantly not wanting to disturb the old man too much. "Your the second one already this morning" he said to her with a slightly irritated tone as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Let me see you duel the practice dummy and I will determine if you are skilled enough." Leigh readied herself for her attacker and without warning the first coloured bolt flew past her. The next five minutes were a blur as she twirled, dodged, and jumped around a rainbow of spells. Her shots were spot on, and she was dodging all of the shots until one came out of nowhere and knocked her to the ground. "Alright", the old man in painting said. "You are a remarkably good duelist" he continued. "What about the other tryout this morning?" she asked a little out of breath. "He spent 30 minutes dodging and deflecting everything we could test him with. I had to stop the test after he managed to destroy all ten test dummies" the old man said with a bemused smile on his face. "That was two hours ago. He is still here, at the other end of the arena practicing some advanced duel techniques." Leigh was now very curious as to who could be so good. She walked slowly towards the other end of the arena, but stopped when she saw who it was. His wand was showering sparks and he was continuously releasing a rainbow of coloured spells on a test dummy. The oddest part was that she could not hear him utter a single spell. "Care to dual" she said in an even voice hoping to catch him off guard. "I would love to" he said without even turning around.

* * *

George had hoped it would come down to this, nevertheless it was much sooner than he had anticipated. He had already been training for over two hours and was starting to feel the burn. Luckily he enjoyed duelling in this state since it forced him to the very edge of his abilities. There were times in his life that he would practice for days only stopping to eat and sleep. He would see how useful that training had been. Leigh was not the most challenging opponent he had ever faced but after seeing her qualification test he was convinced he would have to make an effort in order to win. He snapped back to reality, as he noticed the floor pattern had changed. They were both standing in the middle of a black and blue carpet. They shook hands and each walked to another end of the carpet. Every eighth of the carpet a moon had been painted and the further he moved away from the centre, the more it waxed. "Finally a real duelling area, not just some pen or row of trees" he thought happily. They turned, bowed, and wait for the signal from the referee.

* * *

The old man in the painting was the referee. Curiosity had gotten the better of him and he wanted to see this showdown with his own eyes. Leigh stood tensed wand at the ready aimed directly at George's chest hoping to catch him off guard. It looked like it could work since his wand was lowered and his eyes were closed. "3, ... 2, ... 1, ... Begin!" the old man shouted. Leigh shot a perfectly aimed stunning spell at George; time dropped down to crawl as she watched her spell travel the distance to where he stood. "Nearly there" she thought triumphantly. Any moment now she expected the full force of her spell to send him flying backwards. Just as that was about to happen, George's eyes popped open and with amazing speed used his wand to redirect her spell over his left shoulder, around the back of his neck, back over his right shoulder, and straight at her. Leigh had barely registered what had just happened before her spell hit her full force. She felt herself flung backwards towards the back wall. She braced for the hard impact. After several moments of waiting for the harsh landing she opened her eyes and noticed she was no longer moving, she was floating mid-air, slowly drifting to the ground.

* * *

After the old man had declared him the winner, since she was completely knocked off the duel area, he walked over to where she was sitting on a bed of air. "May I join you?" he asked in a quiet voice. She nodded and he sat down beside her though keeping a little distance. "I, ... that spell was right in front of you, a moment later you would have knocked off your feet" she said in disbelieve. He got to his feet, and helped her up as well. "Yes I would have" he said with an apprehensive look. The morning bell announcing breakfast rang as they exited the practice arena. "See you around, I hope" she said quietly and then ran off in the direction of Gryffindor tower. He made his made his way down to dungeons and thinking about that shocked look Leigh had had on her face as she was sent flying. Originally he planned to let the spell hit her and then walk off as he declared the winner but that look of utter helplessness convinced him to do otherwise. Just like his redirection spell, his levitation charm was perfectly timed. A moment of hesitation on his part would have caused her to ram into the wall. He entered the common room as many of Slytherin house exited to go have breakfast. Most of the ladies were wearing lightly colored dresses underneath the manditory black cape with the school emblem on it; the contrast was pleasant sight and he could tell that many of the Lords were enjoying the view. He knew that wearing a dress like that was impractical and served only one purpose, to remind everyone that they were from houses of nobility. Of course there were Ladies who did not come from any noble family and still entered but this was rare since their parents would usually need all the help they could get at their master's castle. "For anyone not from royalty or nobility, the 13th century was a harsh place " he thought. The thought struck him that as bad as it was for some in the Wizarding world, the muggle world must be much worse. "They do not even have proper tournaments" he thought amused as he disrobed to shower. The shower system at Hogwarts was already at least 200 years old but still worked like clockwork. Hogwarts was one of the only places in the world to have running water. Even the richest or most talented wizards had trouble getting a shower to work after the four Founders had managed the incredible feat here at Hogwarts. "They were a secretive bunch were they not" he thought wishing he could always have a shower whenever he wanted to. "Better enjoy while your here" a ghost said as only his head popped out of a far wall. "Trust me, I will".

* * *

Breakfast was a rather dull affair after the events of this morning. The image of him arcing her spell around him and back towards her was burned into her mind; that look of complete concentration as her burning red spell orbited him. She snapped out of it as a piece of parchment was handed to her. "Your class schedule, my dear" the elderly woman said smilingly slightly. She unrolled the parchment and was elated that the whole of today was reserved for Defence Against the Dark Arts. Tomorrow, "we have etiquette, flying lessons, and potions", one girl said looking rather disgruntled. "Etiquette and Potions in on one day does seem rather harsh" Leigh replied as she thought back to her mother's etiquette lessons. "History, Herbology, Muggle Studies does not seem like a bad day to me" another girl piped in. Everyone nodded in agreement. The bell signalled for everyone to head off to their respective classes and as she got up she caught a glimpse of him. George was dressed in robes that matched his eyes and he was wearing pants like a peasant would except these were a beautiful shade of pitch black, there was not a spot on them. Then he was gone, swallowed up by the crowd of people exiting the Great Hall.

End Chapter 2

Do not expect me to keep this pace, but found some rather good inspiration today to write so enjoy and I really appreciate your reviews! Thanks, ryutana


	3. Chapter 3

Rose Petals and Shining Armour - A Harry Potter fanfiction

I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with it, J. does in case you were starting to confuse me with her.

Chapter 3

"Phew, what a long day" Leigh thought as she closed the curtains around her bed. In the darkness she started recalling the day's events.

* * *

The last day of the second week at Hogwarts had started just like the other ones. She started the day early by training in the practice duel arena. The old man in the painting, Lord Edward Chipes, was used to her coming in early and often greeted her. Chipes, as he liked to be called, was an excellent instructor and she had enjoyed the latest sessions with him immensely. George was there every morning as well but he never even looked in her direction, let alone talked to her. He was there for one reason, to practice. That suited her just fine though it did get a little quite until Clipes started tutoring her. She left before the morning bell announcing breakfast so she could shower and get changed.

* * *

Breakfast was never dull at her part of the table especially with the new friends she had made. Mary, officially Lady Mary Whiteflower, she had met on the second day during flying lessons with Professor Milvus. They had been paired to help each other mount their brooms. It had taken them both almost the full lesson to mount the broom properly since neither had ever even been near a broom before. Mary had flowing red hair that went all the way down to her mid-riff. Anne, Lady Annibel Philigando, on the other hand was a natural golden-blonde with bright blue eyes and a soft smile. Meeting her had made the first Etiquette lesson bearable. For all the duelling skills Leigh possessed she had enormous difficulty doing a simple curtsy. Professor Graicefield kept telling her that her back was not straight enough, she did not go low enough, she was off balance, and on and on it went. Anne did not even need a second attempt; she looked so graceful that Leigh was a little jealous until Anne came over and offered to help her. Half an hour later she could manage a passable curtsy and was so happy that she spontaneously gave Anne a hug. As the bell rung announcing the end of breakfast all three girls headed to the same class since they all belonged to the same house, Gryffindor.

* * *

Potions first think in the morning was never a good thing, no matter century it happens to be. Professor Nightlok, despite his name was a patient, elderly, gentleman. But no matter how much he explained and reexplained someone would do it wrong. Today they had been trying to make a temporary beauty potion that when finished would have a glowing silver colour. The person who could make the best potion would win the recipe to the Exhalatio potion; this potion made the drinker like vapour such that any physical object would pass straight through them, like a ghost. Though if made incorrectly it could have a permanent effect. The potion was beyond most seventh year students abilities in potion making so giving the recipe to a first year would be harmless. At the end of the allotted two hours everyone brought a vile of their potion forward and Professor Nightlok started examining and sorting them. After several minutes he announced "Lady Mary Whiteflower come forward and claim your prize". As she came forward he said "Very nicely done, near perfect I would think" in a slightly hushed tone. Leigh's potion had been a shade of iron coloured dark-grey which was not bad considering some of the potions were green, purple, and even bright pink. As they left for Transfiguration class Mary decided to go by the Gryffindor tower to deposit the little scroll she had received.

* * *

Just as Professor Mutare, the elderly lady who gave Leigh her schedule on the first day, was about to start class Mary rushed in and quickly found her way to where Leigh and Anne had reserved a seat for her. "Just in the nick of time, dear. Let us begin class for today" Professor Mutare said in a matter-of-fact voice. "Today we are going to be practice our newfound transfiguration skills on the bar of soap in front of you. Just use the spell we practiced saying last time and the accompanying wand motion." the elderly Professor said as she placed a bar of soap in front of her. "1, ... 2, ... 3, Petramine" and with that the bar of soap quivered, shrank, and finally became rock solid. "Now your turn" she said with a twinkle in her eyes. These spells were very different from what she was used to. Leigh had spent many hours training duelling with her father or other instructors because her parents had felt that she had to be able to defend herself. The rest of her magical education they had left over to Hogwarts where she was now struggling to transform a bar of soap into a rock. By the end of the lesson the only one who had come close to transforming her bar of soap had been Anne and even then it only had a small sandy crust. "Your homework, is to practice this spell and demonstrate a successful transfiguration at the next lesson." At this the whole class groaned a little since they would be busy with this for a good part of the weekend.

* * *

After a long lunch break, the Gryffindors had one final class and then the rest of the afternoon off. Charms with the young, impatient, yet wildly enthusiastic Professor Leporem was nice way to finish the week. He had a flair for showmanship, claiming that in his younger years he had been a travelling performer and as such most of the charms lessons to date had been about making bubbles and coloured lights spurt from the tips of their wands. Today however, he would be demonstrating the levitation charm, Wingardium Leviosa. The class was one of the two classes the Gryffindors and Slytherins had together and luckily neither Professor showed any favouritism. Leigh sat on the front row not wanting to miss anything. Professor Leporem strode forward from the back of the room and shut the doors with a flick of his wand. He stopped next to a table in the front of the room that had several coloured flowers on it. "Today I will be demonstrating how make an object fly" he said with a wide grin. Obviously he enjoyed giving this particular lesson very much. He made a swish and flick motion while casting the spell "Wingardium Leviosa". A red flower slowly drifted upwards, followed by a yellow one, and the rest followed suit. He waved his wand slightly and they started drifting together and formed a multicoloured flower drifting in mid-air. All the girls were oohing and aahing when suddenly one flower left formation and zoomed straight at the Professor's face. With no time to react the flower hit Professor Leporem in his left eye. Luckily, the flower had slowed down quiet a bit so the Professor was only a little teary eyed. "Well, well.", he said blinking wildly, "One of you already knows this spell and was not amused with my flying flower." He silently flicked his wand and instantly all the desks in the class room jumped a meter of the floor. "Better?" he asked as the class applauded. Then he noticed an empty desk that was still on the ground. His look darkened as he realised that someone was playing games with him. He slowly put down all the desks and announced "That will be all for today, during the next lesson you will get the chance to try the Levitation charm for yourselves. In the mean time enjoy the weekend" he said abruptly and walked off to his office. The class had not even lasted half an hour and the extra free time was welcomed by all. Leigh, Mary, and Anne quickly made their way out of the castle and to the shore of the Black Lake.

* * *

It was a particularly nice day out, one of the summer's last days. They sat down in the shade of a large tree at the edge of the lake. "What was that all about?" Mary asked. "I thought he was doing wonderfully, even despite the fact he managed to poke himself in the eye with one of his flowers" Anne answered. "He did not do that to himself, he said that one of us already knew that spell. Granted it probably is not such a hard spell to learn but still how many first years could do that?" Mary retorted. Leigh thought back to her early morning duel with George almost two weeks ago. It could have been him but she had not seen him anywhere in the classroom and his snow-white hair usually stuck out like a sore thumb. "I do not know", she said, "but I am grateful for this extra time outside". With that she lay down not caring about her dress or the smudges that the grass would make. She would just have to change before going to dinner. They had had a wonderful nap in the shade of the tree until the bell rang out for dinner.

* * *

Feeling a little sleepy after dinner the three of them had decided to retire early. Leigh slowly drifted to sleep as the light patter of rain on the roof could be heard.

* * *

End Chapter 3

I hope you enjoy this third chapter and I really appreciate your reviews! Thanks, ryutana


	4. Chapter 4

Rose Petals and Shining Armour - A Harry Potter fanfiction

I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with it, J. does. Actually I own a chocolate frog box but I have the feeling that information is not very relevant.

Chapter 4

Last night after dinner it had started raining and this morning it was still pouring outside. George had just finished his morning training as he went down to the dungeons. The frigid air felt good but he knew he would catch a cold if he did not hurry up and take a hot shower. He grabbed a towel, and quickly went to the showers. He was about to turn on the water and when he noticed that the nearest bar of soap had an odd grey tint, not the usual ivory colour. He grabbed it and thought with a sigh "Someone was in dire need of extra Transfiguration practice". The rest of the bars of soap were also now no more than a heavy rock so he turned and went to the bedrooms. From his little bookshelf by his bed he pulled the transfiguration textbook and started flipping through the pages looking for the spell to turn the rocks back to bars of soap. He had seen it somewhere when he had been preparing for Professor Mutare's lecture. "Ah, Saponem!" he thought happily after 15 minutes of looking. He ran back down to the showers and laid all the bars of soap on the ground in front of him. "Saponem" he said pointing his wand at a particularly dull grey rock. When nothing happened, he tried again "Saponem". This time the rock looked a little paler so he tried again, "Saponem!". The rock writhed a little, started bubbling, and turned to solid soap. He quickly repeated the spell on the rest of the rocks with immediate success. He turned on the hot water and decided to practice a little more transfiguration. Since he was showering in a rather large public shower cell with plenty of tiled floor space he kicked a bar of soap towards the opposite wall and transformed it into a rock just as it was about to hit the wall, causing it to rocket back to him. He aimed the spell just right that when it came back it was a bar of soap again. He did this several times to make sure he could pass the next transfiguration homework check. Satisfied with his early yet unplanned start on his homework he was about to leave the common room when the bell ending breakfast rang out.

* * *

The joy of the moment before ebbed away a little as he realised that it would several hours before it was lunch and he had not eaten since dinner. He was not particularly fond of the idea of missing a meal so he decided not to wait but to go find the fabled Hogwarts kitchens. He had a general idea of where it would be since the statues in a particular area of the castle were all food related in one way or another. The only problem was that the kitchens seemed to have a tendency to move around the castle so he would have to be fast and lucky. The halls were empty since most people were either in the Great Hall or the common rooms working on their weekly dosage of homework. He sprinted up stairs and around corners with little fear of running someone over. He stopped for a second to catch his breath and noticed the statue of the dragon holding a pineapple in its claws. "Only the kitchen would do something like this" he thought with amusement. He ran around the next corner and stopped with a jolt. People like Lord Jon Probus were the reason Slytherin had such a bad reputation at Hogwarts. The fourth year student was cold hearted and cruel to anyone outside his own little club and even then he could still be unpredictable. He and his gang had managed to corner a group of first year Hufflepuff girls. More than likely they were being made to part with their monthly allowance since the post was supposed to come in today. The fact that they were still there was good news since they usually tried to make a quick getaway. "Hey!" George shouted as he pulled out his wand. The Probus quintet, as they liked to be called, turned around slowly. Jon Probus was tall and skinny as a nail, with malicious green eyes, and perfectly combed coal black hair. The smile that formed on his face was even more hideous since there was a hint of something that did not bode well for George. "Well, well, Ladies here is your knight in shining armour" Jon said with dripping sarcasm. As if on cue, four flaming red stunning spells lit up the hallway and shot towards George but he easily deflect them against the walls around him. Jon's face hardened slightly and with a cool voice simply said "Get him."

* * *

His four misfits were also fourth year Slytherins and they were by no means trivial opponents. The two girls were known for the phenomenal acrobatic style of duelling usually opting to flip over a spell instead of deflecting it. The two boys were probably half giants because they were as huge and as least as dumb as a real giant though they had no trouble understanding this command. They launched their attack on George as Jon leaned back against a nearby wall making sure the group of girls would not escape. George steeled himself for what was going to be a more than usually interesting training exercise. The first girl bore down on him with a ferocious cart-wheel style of attack; the small surface area combined with the circular motion made for a very hard target for the average wizard. George on the other hand stood his ground blocking all the shots she was sending at him until she was right in front of him. In that moment he could see that the other girl had caught up and saw both girls firing a spell at him. Their faces lit up since they thought they had him trapped; this was the moment he had been waiting for. Time seemed to slowed down to a crawl as he crouched and launched himself backwards in one fluid motion as both electric-blue bolts came streaking towards him. Just as they were about to hit him he moved his wand deftly from right to left deflecting both spells back to their respective owners. All three of them were blown backwards into the surrounding solid rock walls. Both girls collapsed on the floor, a faint wisp of smoke rising from the spots they had been hit with their own spells. George barely had a chance to gasp for breath as the two half-giants were just about to reach him. He sprang up, ran, and slid on the smooth stone floor just beneath their reach to the bottom of a nearby stair case. George lay dazed in the substantially darker hallway, due to the worsening weather outside. Sparks flew as a spell collided with the stone steps next to him, this brought George back to his senses as more sparks flew around him. "Your giants' aim is as sharp as their minds" he yelled at Jon who was following the confrontation with amusement. George block an on-target spell and quickly hoisted himself of the ground. Taking one step at a time, George carefully made his way up the stairs backwards, blocking the half-giants spells. Once on top he ran down the hallway and took a left. He pushed a girl out of the way of an incoming spell and barely had time to protect himself. He took another left and another hoping to circle back to where Jon was. As he turned the last corner, he saw that Jon was indeed there but so were his girls. The half-giants were already blocking the way back so now he was trapped between the four of the them.

* * *

The four minions slowly moved inward keeping their wands aimed at him. He slowly placed his wand on the floor in defeat and placed his hands behind his head. The Probus quintet had looks of triumph on their faces as they realised their opponent was surrendering. "Time to teach this little peasant boy a lesson in manners" one of the half-giants said with a huge grin on his face. George did not quite know what that meant but he had no intention of finding out. The next moment was a blur; one second George was wandless and surrounded, the next he had his wand aimed at Jon, with the rest of the group lying on the ground unconscious. Instead of looking fearful, Jon studied George calmly and carefully for a second and then blasted him with a disarming spell. George easily whipped the spell back at him but Jon was better than most and had seen it coming. "Your party tricks will not work on me you little boy" he said with steely grin. With three backflips George landed on the top of the stairs he had just come down, gaining the upper ground and hoping for an advantage. A crowd had gathered on top to see what was going on but quickly ducked for cover when Jon started a new barrage of spells. Suddenly a silvery bolt flew past George and hit Jon square in the chest causing him to crumple to the ground. George immediately dropped his wand and put his hands up in the air. He could hear steps behind him and was preparing for the worst when he heard Professor Mutare say with an even voice "The Headmaster would like to see you Lord Swanson". He turned around and dropped his arms slowly. Without saying a word he grabbed his wand off the floor and walk in the direction of Headmaster's office as the silent crowd parted to let him through.

* * *

He was in trouble and knew it as he stood in front of the Headmaster's office door deliberating if he should knock or just go to the dungeon and pack. He had done nothing wrong except for breaking one of the primary rules, no duelling outside the training area under any circumstances. Technically, he had not duelled since he had not fired a single spell, he just deflected the ones meant for him. Even when the four member of the Probus quintet had been rendered unconscious he had not done it; he simply surprised them by dropping forward to the ground, letting their spells whiz over him and hit each other. Then he popped straight again up with his wand in his hand. "Simple yet so very effective" he thought a little pleased with himself. He gathered his courage and knocked on the door but it was already open. He quietly walked into the wide Headmasters office and took a moment to enjoy the view. The entire room was covered in an assortment of potted flowers, the desk alone had at least 20 pots with flowers of all different sizes and colours. "You are a remarkable wizard for a first year student" Headmaster Litesprieg said as he appeared from behind a collection of more potted flowers in a corner of the room. "You managed to best five fourth year students with only defensive spells while you could have easily fired back your own spells" he continued as he started trimming some other flowers. "I ..." George began. "No need to explain" the Headmaster said looking up from his work. "I would like for you to make use of your talent by becoming a hall sentinel. You know what their task is right?" Headmaster Litesprieg said putting down the garden shears he had been using. "Umm, yes. They maintain order in the halls and when necessary use magic if no Professors happen to be around." George said taken aback slightly. "Correct! You start immediately. No check-ins required or anything just keep things peaceful around here so I can tend to my flowers" the Headmaster said with a twinkle in his eyes. "Now off you go, I still have another 351 pots to tend to" he said as he turned his attention to a particularly large orange and purple flower. George left in a slight trance, the fact that he was not in trouble was about the only thing that had fully registered.

* * *

He was in a good mood as walked down the steps out of the Headmaster's office. He opened the door and almost walked straight into a teary eyed Leigh. "You!" she shouted in surprise. "Me?" he answered hesitantly. "Yes, you! You pushed me out of the way during your little duel and tore up my favourite dress!" she shouted at him. "Now get out of my way so I can report you to the Headmaster!" she said her eyes became a little watery. "I pushed you out of the way to keep you from getting hit by that massive stunning spell, if it had not been for me you would be in a hospital bed" George answered in disbelieve, all the while not moving out of the doorway. "This was my mother's favourite dress, she wore it when she first came here to Hogwarts, and I promised to take good care of it. Now because of you its ruined!" Leigh retorted, half shouting, half sobbing. With a sigh George took out his wand, and with irritated undertone uttered "Reparo" while waving his wand over the damaged white-silver dress. As he walked off, the dress repaired itself and became like new again. A little shocked Leigh could hear him muttering "What a silly, ungrateful little girl" under his breath. Then the bell announcing the start of lunch rang out and she could see him take off for the Great Hall.

* * *

End Chapter 4

I hope you enjoy this chapter and comment if you have any feedback for me! Thanks, ryutana


End file.
